Places intended for gambling are prohibited within a 300-meter walking distance from educational institutions and institutions, playgrounds for children, according to the project approved on Monday by the Senate, which aims to amend GEO No. 77/2009 on the organization and operation gambling.

PSD senator Radu Oprya told the plenary session that the Social Democratic parliamentary group would vote for this project, “a good initiative that really wants to remove garbage from the path of children”, noting that he wanted a functional law that would help young people and especially victims of this dependencies

“One of the good amendments that have been made today is to remove slot machines from bars and cafes where a young person can go, especially cafes where, if there is alcohol, the idea of ​​gambling will probably arise. And it’s good that we managed to remove from other areas, except for gambling halls, such machines, which really create big problems for many families in Romania, both for children and for parents,” Opria said.

The initiator of the project, liberal Alina Gorgiou, acting president of the Senate, referred to the main provision of the project, according to which playgrounds are prohibited at a distance of 300 meters from schools and playgrounds.

“I thank my colleagues on the Law Commission and the Economic Commission for agreeing to vote on a report today, a report that says a few simple things, that gambling premises should not be closed. are located indoors or within a pedestrian radius of 300 meters from places frequented by young people, such as playgrounds, schools, cultural institutions, credit or financial and banking institutions. I also think that a phenomenon that has been talked about very little is the route, the way in which the rural population gets access to gambling. In all the communes of Romania, you will see that there are gambling in the bars, (…) that have littered the countryside,” Gorgiu said.

She noted that although there is legislation in this area, it is not enforced, so “more consistent restrictions” should be introduced.

“We will have to change the legislation so that teenagers who are not allowed to visit canteens. While the legislation is there, we need to introduce more consistent restrictions to make things happen. We must also find a solution for those who are addicted to gambling today. .This is not only a drama of teenagers, it is also a drama of the poor, a drama of some people who believe that there are no other solutions for survival than winning gambling games. “There are a lot of teenagers who believe that gambling can be a way. Like I said, the law prohibits it, and despite all that, when you graduate from high school, you walk 30 meters straight to the gaming room, no prohibition,” he said. Gorgiou.

USR Senator Sebastian Cernik spoke about the importance of this bill aimed at reducing the harmful effects of gambling on minors.

“The legislation to ban school sweepstakes is perhaps the most important legislative initiative we are working on to protect the lives and futures of our children. We need to put an end to this, we need to clear the road to the school or to In this sense, USR proposed that there should be no more gambling halls within 300 meters around the playgrounds for minors, schools, kindergartens and playgrounds,” said the USR senator.

The draft was also voted by the Ukrainian SSR and UDMR deputy groups.

The Senate is the first legislative chamber to hear the case. (Source: Agerpres)